Anthony Bourdain will make you add Oman to your travel bucket list

Courtesy of CNN

Cailey Rizzo

June 09, 2017

Anthony Bourdain teases that you probably can’t find Oman on a map. But after watching Sunday night’s episode of Parts Unknown, viewers may be tempted to get out their atlases and commit Oman’s geography to memory.

On his journey through the diverse country, Bourdain travels through the desert on a camel, meanders through an ancient marketplace and eats lunch on the side of a mountain.

Oman has a fascinating history — although not many people know about it. It’s been plagued by civil war and meddling foreign powers. But it’s also a country that, Bourdain says, is welcome to outsiders. He praises the Omani tolerance towards different cultures, religions and viewpoints.

One of the most cinematic parts of the episode is Bourdain’s trek through The Empty Quarter. He spends time with bedouin tribes in the “stark, empty, clean sand that stretches out seemingly forever.”

Courtesy of CNN

Bourdain wanders through the colorful marketplaces that have existed for over 2,000 years in Muscat, the country’s bustling capital. Outside of the capital, Oman’s features diving, fishing and an international port — all in vibrant turquoise waters.